For craft beer enthusiasts, springtime brings more than just warmer weather and longer days. It means the annual return of Russian River Brewing’s Pliny the Younger. And, in our town, it means the San Diego Beer News Awards.
Pliny the Younger was first brewed by Russian River Brewing in 2005. In the 20 years since its inception during the boredom of “the slow days of winter,” according to the Russian River website, the triple IPA has developed into a phenomenon that brings out beer lovers and nerds far and wide.
The core of the beer’s profile is the same as the original version, but each year a subtle change is made to offer something for beer enthusiasts to wax philosophical about while sipping away. This year, Russian River added Tangier hops to give more orange-flavored notes.
The rarity of the beer added to the 10.5% abv punch it packs means it’s served in a smaller tulip glass in most places. This encourages sipping, which was harder to do with this year’s version than last year’s. The 2025 version is more easy drinking with the bitterness dialed back slightly and a dry finish leaving you wanting another taste.
In San Diego, there are only a few places lucky enough to pick up the handle and a keg or two for the coveted but limited release. One such place, PCH Sports Bar in South Oceanside.
Owner Amy O’Donnell has been a fan of Russian River since she opened her venue 17 years ago. I visited on a very busy afternoon with a long line for Pliny already forming, but O’Donnell took me into “The Ship” side of PCH to chat over a beer.
O’Donnell: We are very good pals with Russian River. We are good customers, and they are good to us. So, we get Pliny the Younger and we do a Russian River tap takeover. We have eight beers from Russian River on tap right now.
ILB: How many taps do you have in total and how many are craft beers?
O’Donnell: 20 total taps. And all are crafts. It’s part of our agreement with the world. No crap on tap. We’ve been doing this a long time. We are usually the first line of defense for beer education.
ILB: Where did this passion for craft beer come from?
O’Donnell: It just evolved with the city. In that crash of 2008, beer in San Diego was little less touched. Beer saved America. Beer saved San Diego for sure!
ILB: Was there a beer back then that you just had to have on tap?
O’Donnell: I’m an IPA drinker. We had Stone. And the Stone rep put me in touch with Russian River, and then it still took two years to get Pliny the Elder.
ILB: And what do you think of this year’s Pliny the Younger?
O’Donnell: It’s delicious. They did something a little different; it’s a little smoother this year.
If you’ve never ventured into the PCH Sports Bar, you must come enjoy a drink in “The Ship.”
ILB: What exactly is “The Ship”?
O’Donnell: “The Ship” is the dark side of PCH Sports Bar — in a good way. On Friday and Saturday nights after 5, we stop making liquor drinks on the other side and you must come here to “The Ship” and deal with the pirates.
ILB: It feels like grown-up “Pirates of the Caribbean” in here.
O’Donnell: The murals were painted by local artist Sean Dominguez. It changes up seasonally too. It’s a community art project for sure.
ILB: Besides “The Ship,” what makes PCH Sports Bar special?
O’Donnell: We are all here all the time. We are all long-term employees, locals, working hard and making people feel good about South O. Don’t ignore your local places!
Cheers to that! And we have a lot of amazing local breweries here in North County as evidenced by the San Diego Beer Awards 2025. Here’s a partial list of the bling brought in by our locals:
Best Breweries: Pure Project Vista (North) and Burgeon Beer (West)
Best New Breweries: Weir Beer (2nd) and The Roadies (3rd)
Best Hoppy Beer (non-IPA): Burgeon’s Carlsbad Crush
Best Sour/Wild Ale: Pure Project’s Mount Eden
Best Coffee Beer: Pizza Port’s Bacon & Eggs
For the complete rundown of award winners, and all things beer related, see the San Diego Beer News website.
Jeff Spanier is the co-host of I Like Beer the Podcast. Take a listen wherever you get podcasts. Follow Spanier’s adventures on Instagram @ilikebeerthepodcast.
